Super Swing Golf Season 2 - hands-on

Our golf ball melts in a pit of molten lava. Want to hear about it?

Super Swing Golf Season 2 is not only a game about golf; it's a game about putting on a Rachel from Ninja Gaiden costume, replacing your golf clubs with a set of ninja swords and then playing golf. Super Swing 2 still has a pretty wacky spin on playing golf. The only thing it seems to take seriously - like the first game -are the mechanics of the game. Behind the bright characters and inflatable humor, in the near complete version of the game we played, we found some very challenging gameplay.

The controls are roughly the same, with the Wii Remote handling the swinging, and us handling hooking the ball fifty yards off the fairway... into a lava pit. It might have helped if we'd played any golf outside of the mini variety in the last decade. We thought we were in trouble, but Super Swing 2 has a little secret called the Lucky Club. It keeps the ball going straight no matter how far off course your swing may veer and is a helpful tool for golfers around our handicaps who are getting used to the sometimes-difficult learning curve.

The golfers' stats have also been adjusted to make things easier. There are now only three attributes: power, control and spin, which can all be altered by changing your golfer, equipment or outfit. At first you'll have only two golfers and a couple of outfits available, but as you play through the single-player Tour Mode, more will be unlocked. Tour Mode puts your golfer on a map with branching paths that can be unlocked by beating various golfers and challenges. Beating the boss atthe end of eachof the eight maps unlocks a new character for you to play. Certain areas are important for the story, but other paths are only necessary if you want to unlock all of the sweet extras.